A telecommunications carrier, such as a competitive local exchange carrier (CLEC) or an incumbent local exchange carrier (ILEC), provides telecommunications access, such as voice and data communications, to customers. Each telecommunications carrier may maintain private network equipment as well as lease network equipment access from other telecommunications carriers.
The telecommunications carrier network can include various forms of communication networks and equipment, including but not limited to: switches, routers, hubs, repeaters, bridges, servers, etc. The network can include packet-switched data networks (e.g., the Internet, intranets, extranets, subnets), the public switched telephone network (PSTN), wireless networks, local area networks (LANs), wide area networks (WANs), peer-to-peer networks, satellite networks, radio and television broadcast networks, optical networks, metro area networks (MANs), computer networks, grid networks, exchanges (e.g., private branch exchange (PBX)), broadband integrated data services network (B-ISDN), access networks, digital subscriber lines (DSL), cable, etc.
A telecommunications service provider, such as a broadband telecommunications service solutions provider, purchases telephone numbers from the telecommunications carrier and assigns the numbers to customers, providing the customers, in some implementations, with a greater variety of service options, business solutions, and/or communications applications. For example, the telecommunications service provider may present the customer with an enterprise solution combining multiple communications technologies and a rich variety of voice and data services in an integrated package.
A customer purchases service from the telecommunications carrier or the telecommunications service provider to gain telecommunications network access for one or more communication devices owned or operated by the customer. The communication devices can include any device capable of transmitting or receiving voice and/or data, including but not limited to: telephones, smart phones, mobile phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), computers, FAX machines, Internet-enable devices, media players, set-top boxes, email devices, etc. The service can include the assignment of a telephone number for voice communications via a land line, cellular phone, GPS phone, or other voice communications device.
Although a customer may purchase service from a first service provider, the customer may decide at a later point to switch from the first service provider to a second service provider. For example, the customer may determine that cost savings or greater dependability is available through the second service provider. Rather than losing the assigned telephone number, the customer often can request that the assigned telephone number be ported from the first service provider to the second service provider.